Monthly Archives: March 2013

“The thing about the album Xania is, it’s difficult to chuck it into a pigeonhole and approach critiquing it from a known angle. When a collection of songs come along that sound peerless, it would be tempting to blow them off and listen to something familiar and comfortable. If Xania the album was a living person, an unthinking bouncer would send her packing, away from the posh night club, deeming her unworthy to hang out with all the cool people inside — which is exactly why I like this album.

True, nothing can be completely free of labels; for instance there are elements of rap in Xania, and modicums of folk, and pepperings of pop, and a smattering of (how dare she!) tap-dancing. But what might also strike the listener is what this album isn’t: it isn’t pretentious, it isn’t presumptuous, it isn’t dishonest, and it sure as hell isn’t the product of the minimum input by some dollybird trying to make a quick buck with empty, soulless, chip-and-pin music-by-numbers produced by dudes with frozen dicks. It’s a forthright, straight-backed, imperfect, take-it-or-leave-it group of songs about living on the road, shitty promoters, broken hearts, starting all over again ass-broke, and finding happiness through it all. My personal favourite is Two Jealous Boys, a song about having, literally, too much choice — if Peaches were here, surely she’d have to put her hand up and say, ‘Yeah, I wish I wrote this.’

Xania’s vocals ride high and close, packing in the content, practically standing in front of the listener, telling the stories. If Xania herself didn’t have such a sweet and honest voice, you might say she was ‘in your face’ — but again, the listener might consider what she isn’t: she isn’t bitter, resentful, angry, naive, or obnoxious, traits one might equate with the ‘honesty’ of young artists today. Xania is herself on this album, and that’s a mighty thing, especially for a first, self-financed album. It raises a question, reserved for the time of settling dust on this collection: what’s next?”

Xania used to be omnipresent in Berlin as one half of the truly entertaining duo Trike, which unfortunately split up in the summer of 2012. Taylor, stayed in Berlin, Xania moved back to Canada, her home country where she has been busy recording her first solo album over the short space of 6 months. During which time Trike’s 4th album Slapped was released on which the two had been working for one year. It is unlikely to achieve much success, not because it was bad, but because Trike were the epitome of what is means to be a ‘live’ band. The album is nice to listen to and has many good ideas and may be occasionally played at parties, but Trike were loved for their spectacular live shows.

Having said that, it is very exciting to watch the two musicians grow into solo artists – though the word ‘solo’ doesn’t really fit Xania’s self titled debut album, since she collaborated with several musicians, among them Robin Sukroso. She documented the working process in detail on her blog, including very intimate insights and thoughts on the realities of recording an album, and giving thanks to friends who assisted her.

The self-titled album contains 11 tracks. Xania raps, tap-dances and sings about events and experiences that have been part of her life over the past five years. The single ‘Hip Op’ deals with her leaving Berlin (as does, albeit in a more general way, the opening track ‘Gypsy’). In ‘2 Jealous Boys’ she addresses the luxury problem of having “too much choice” – confidently taking on the bragging that is so stereotypical of rap. It is an essential question after all – beautiful eyes vs. sexy lips, but why don’t you take both, Xania? What the H?

All of the songs appear sincere. In ‘Busking’ she reflects on the very topic, giving astonishing depth to the song’s protagonist in just under two minutes. The combination of rap and acoustic guitar is rarely found, but it’s this mix that distinguishes the song from the rest of the album, it certainly has charms. In particular I liked ‘My heart is on the floor’, not only because it so strikingly reminds me of the Violent Femmes’ ‘Country Death Song’, with it’s combination of bass, banjo, tap dance (!) but it’s the highly likeable voice that turns the song into a great one. It sits in the middle of the album is where you find the real gem ‘I want to be a Doll’, with it’s gorgeous tale of escapism.

In 30 minutes the album offers a varied trip through Xania’s experiences as a street musician in Canada, Berlin and throughout Europe. You get the feeling of participating in her travels, and her most intimate thoughts. That said we should be careful not to confuse the author and the narrator, the use of artistic expression can always transport us into the unknown. I recommend this album, it’s a successful debut, and I look forward to a European tour with perhaps the support of a full band.

For those of you who understandably have a thirst to hear <Xania>, well unfortunately you have to wait until the official release of May 25th when it can be purchased on CD or digital download at http://xania.bandcamp.com